The US Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with Cisco Systems (CSCO), reversing a federal appeals court ruling that had allowed claims that the company aided human-rights abuses in China to proceed.

The case was brought by Falun Gong practitioners who say Cisco helped Chinese authorities identify and detain them by developing surveillance technology used in the government's crackdown. They alleged the company and two executives were responsible for aiding violations of international law, including torture, forced labor and extrajudicial killing.

Writing for the court, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said that while the allegations involve "heinous and inhumane acts," federal courts cannot create new causes of action to enforce international norms, and the relevant statute governing torture claims does not extend to aiding-and-abetting liability. "The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed," she wrote.

Cisco didn't immediately reply to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

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